State officials examining 'elevated cancer levels' in WNY

Thursday

The New York State Department of Health wants to know why there are more diagnosed cases of six cancers on Buffalo's East Side and a portion western Cheektowaga.

Brad Hutton, the deputy commissioner for public health, says that an examination of the state's cancer registry found that cases of colorectal, esophageal, kidney, lung, oral and prostate cancer happen more often in this area.

The percentages range from 30 to 100 percent above the state average.

Health department officials say they will gather local data and take a closer look into the state cancer registry to see if they can explain this higher than average incidence of these types of cancer.

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